Birthdays
by ladyoftheknightley
Summary: Andromeda always makes a point of celebrating with Teddy the birthdays of his Grandpa, Mum and Dad. But there's one birthday she has to celebrate alone...or so she thinks. x.For the 2012 Hogwarts Games, Women's Tennis round 2.x


As soon as Teddy Lupin was old enough to understand, his grandmother began little rituals with him on the birthdays of all the family members he had lost. On his Grandpa's birthday – 18 November – they would bake a cake, pack it in a lunchbox and go to see the football. Ted Tonks had been an ardent supporter of Sheffield Wednesday, so on the nearest match day to his birthday, the aristocratic lady and the boy with multi-coloured hair would apparate to Hillsborough Stadium and cheer on the Owls.

On his father's birthday – 10 March – the two of them would visit Tinworth, the half-magical dwelling in Cornwall where Remus John Lupin had been born. They'd take a picnic to the beach—the weather was almost always kind to them, though there was one memorable year where they had to eat inside a cave to hide from the rain lashing down—and then stop by Shell Cottage on the way home, where Bill and Fleur Weasley would tell Teddy tales of his father. Later, Harry would stop by to spend the evening with Teddy, just the two of them, looking at old pictures of Remus.

On his mother's birthday (her little girl's special day...), they do something _fun_. Nymphadora was born on 16 June, the height of summer, so there's always plenty going on. They go to watch a Quidditch match (Ginny can usually get them in wherever they want to go) or to a funfair, or the zoo. Dora used to love the outdoors, so Andromeda makes sure they're doing something in the open air, just the two of them, then they come home and have pudding for dinner (which Dora would have done every day as a child if she could get away with it).

She makes sure they do something fun and enjoyable partially because she likes the idea of Teddy having happy memories to connect to these people who would otherwise just be names to him, but mostly because she gets all sorts of letters and flowers and gifts and sometimes even money (which she gives away to charity) on the birthdays of her loved ones from strangers who want to tell her how much they appreciate the sacrifices made by the heroes during the war. Andromeda is never sure how she feels about this – on the one hand, it's nice that people remember and think of her, but on the other, _why_ do they have to talk about death and dying on this day, a _birthday_? It's supposed to be a happy occasion, not yet another day of mourning (and Merlin knows, she's had enough days of mourning).

But still, she thinks, at least it's acceptable to acknowledge Ted and Remus and Dora's birthdays. She and Teddy choose to celebrate, others choose to mourn, still others to give thanks, but regardless – it's perfectly acceptable to honour them all in some way.

Because there's another birthday that Andromeda celebrates, on 30 September, and it is not one she can ever tell people that she does. Every year, she leaves Teddy with his godfather's family for the afternoon and visits her sister's grave. When they were children, they used to go dancing on their birthdays – Cissy, the youngest, was always the most graceful; she, Andromeda, the most exacting, memorising each step and movement and replicating it precisely, if a bit woodenly; and Bella the most exuberant. Not quite as good as any of her sisters at dancing, despite being the eldest and therefore having the most experience, she nonetheless made up for this with her enthusiasm. Despite being rich and pretty, they did not have a perfect childhood, but those afternoons of dancing with her sisters on their birthdays were about as close to perfection as Andromeda thinks it's possible for mortals to get.

And so, on 30 September, she takes a music player to her sisters grave, sits down, and imagines waltzing with her again. Bellatrix may have been his best lieutenant, but she was her sister first.

There are many people, she knows, who would think her mad for doing what she does – and that's the best possible reaction they could give her. There are many more, she knows, who would hate her, perhaps verbally or even physically abuse her for celebrating the birth of a murderer. And she understands where they are coming from, for there are few people who know loss like she does, but despite this, she can't stop celebrating her sister's birthday. It's her dirty secret, the thing she can't tell anyone. No one will ever understand her need to celebrate Bellatrix Lestrange's birthday, and even she doesn't really know why she does it.

When Teddy's eight years old, Harry runs late at work, and so she doesn't get to apparate to the graveyard until the evening. It's dusky twilight by the time she gets there – dark, but not dark enough that she can't see a hooded figure crouched by the headstone. She pulls her wand out warily, ready to duel or send for help if she needs to, but as she gets closer, she recognises the figure, who is singing, in a voice that is cracked, but not quite broken. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Bellatrix..."

Andromeda joins in for the last line "Happy birthday to you."

Narcissa turns in surprise, but relaxes when she sees her sister. Wordlessly, Andromeda reaches over and takes her hand. They sit in silence for a few moments, before the younger woman asks, "Do you remember how we used to go dancing, on our birthdays?"

From inside her bag, Andromeda removes a small, portable music player, which strikes up a gentle waltz. "I always bring it on her birthday," she explains, "she used to love the music." Narcissa smiles. "I don't really know why I come here," continues Andromeda. "She killed so many. Who knows, she might have even been the one to kill my daughter? And yet, on her birthday, I always come back here, to bring her the music. I don't know why I do it, but I do."

"We lost her," Narcissa says slowly, "But not on the second of May. We lost her a long time before then, to the Dark Lord and Azkaban and all of that. But birthdays aren't a time for loss, they're a time of celebration. We should celebrate her birthday because despite everything that happened, she is still our sister, and we were happy together as children, before all the politics and the war and everything. And one day a year of loving her does not make us bad people."

Andromeda nods. Despite the years, the new surnames and families, the deaths and the destruction, they are still the Black sisters. She turns to Narcissa. "Shall we dance?"

Slowly, and less gracefully than they used to, the two sisters dance as the stars come out. The Bellatrix star seems to twinkle especially brightly, and in spite of everything, Andromeda smiles when she sees this.

* * *

**A/N: **Standard disclaimers apply – none of this is mine. This was written for round 2 of the women's tennis (write about any member of the Black family) for the 2012 Hogwarts games at HPFC. Sheffield Wednesday's nickname really is 'the Owls', which is just too perfect not to use in a Harry Potter story, no? If you enjoyed this, please review.


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